Shopping in Taipei

Taipei is a shopper's paradise. Bold brass letters boast big brands on the glimmering marble surfaces of upscale department stores. The frugal stand with students at sunrise, scavenging through all manner of second-hand goods at Yonghe's Fuhe bridge market. Shoppers seeking memorabilia or trademark goods head to Ximending. In Zhongshan, lovers of all things aesthetic get caught up in dialogue with Taipei's up and coming designers. Where 'Made in Taiwan' really does it's name justice is at Guang Hua's Digital Plaza, where everything electrical comes at unbelievably low prices - and is still open to negotiation. Taipei is a wonderful duplicity of new world consumer culture (and all the access that comes with it) and traditions of merchants and craftsmen. Fashionable footnotes: A spectacular place to purchase fashionable attire. But for shoes, sticking to brand names is a safe bet. Unfortunately, inexpensive or unbranded soles don't often do the debit justice.